The Trial of Rocky Jones
Summary This compilation episode serves to tie up some loose ends to the Rocky Jones series. Griff is back. Rudy DiMarco and Dr. Reno are back! Pinto Vortando is back! And Rocky is framed! Chapter I Rocky, Biff, Vena, and Bobby are on their way to Ankapor for refueling. Ankapor, with its ever open markets featuring fashons that are copied on Venus is an underground city that never goes to sleep! And a haven for all criminals because there is no extridition on Ankapor! Rudy DiMarco and Dr. Reno run into the poor down on his luck Pinto Vortando, and dispise him - not only for his current condition, but because Pinto helped to usurp their plans to take over Herculon (The Cold Sun). They are on their way to see La Volga, the leader of Ankapor. In his office, La Volga authorizes Griff's paperwork, who is off to Negato with his cargo. Griff wants an escort for his precious cargo, but La Volga has no ships for escorts, and is not concerned with cargos once they leave Ankapor. Dr. Rino and Rudy enter, and La Volga is overjoyed to see them again. Rudy and Dr. Reno have been on an athletic tour showing off Rudy's strength and fighting skills while on Ankapor. La Volga lets Rudy know that his young infatuated daughter Jonica expects to marry Rudy one day! Rudy and Dr. Reno overhear Rocky Jones call in for landing clearance. They wonder if they should leave Ankapor, or hide while Rocky is on the planet. Griff meets with them later, and together they plot how to stop Rocky, rather than worrry about getting caught outside the thousand mile limit on Ankapor laws! Rocky and crew land and report to La Volga (all apparently not remembering Rocky was there once before and saved Ankapor from being taken over in "Rocky's Odessy"). La Volga lays down the law and recommends a cafe while they wait for their ship to be refueled. At the cafe, Rocky notices Dr. Reno and Rudy. And Bobby spots Griff hanging out in a corner! Who could they expect to find on Ankapor next? Well, Pinto Vortando - of course! Pinto begs his way through the cafe and is nearly thrown out by First Native (no name other than that in the credits is mentioned), until Rocky offers him a seat. Pinto tells his tale, and how the local law works. La Volga joins Rudy and Dr. Reno at another table with his daughter Jonica. Rocky hands over a medal he has been holding onto for Pinto for his service to United Worlds. (The Cold Sun). Griff and Dr. Reno conspire to use Pinto to their advantage... With the Silver Moon refueled, Rocky casually goes to get launch clearance from La Volga to leave Ankapor. Rudy courts Pinto into the conspiricy. Griff keeps lookout and alerts Rudy when Rocky gets near. Rudy then begins to beat up Pinto, and Rocky comes to his aid! Griff nabs Pinto and gets him out of the area. Meanwhile, Dr. Reno stears La Volga to the area to witness Rocky Jones beating Rudy DiMarco! Rudy charges Rocky with assault, attempted murder, and robbery - but Pinto, Rocky's clean alibi, is no where to be found! Rocky is imprisoned until his one and only witness can be located - otherwise, Rocky will be considered a liar and fully charged with the crimes! First Native goes to tell Biff, Vena, and Bobby that they are to be confined to the Silver Moon and guarded until further orders. Griff now sends one of his men with Pinto's medal to convince Rocky to go meet with the "hiding" Pinto. But it is another trap, and Rocky is again caught in a fight! Griff cloroforms Rocky and puts him on his ship, the YC47. The YC47 is programmed to automatically launch while Griff is talking with La Volga, giving Griff a clean alibi! First Native alerts La Volga that Rocky escaped from his cell, just as the YC47 is reported to be blasting off! The ship being stollen, Griff suspects the pilot MUST be Rocky Jones! La Volga's persuit ship follows the YC47 with Griff and La Volga at the controls! Rocky wakes up as La Volga docks with the YC47. They board and arrest Rocky Jones for stealing the ship and its cargo! Back on Ankapor, Griff asks La Volga to allow the YC47 and her crew to continue the cargo run and keep his contracts. La Volga agrees. Griff's crew makes sure Pinto Vortando is on board - and soon to be too far away from Ankapor to help Rocky Jones! The plan will be complete! Frustrated, Rocky attacks Griff in an attempt to get him to tell the truth! The outburst infurriates La Volga! And Rocky has no choice but to submit... Biff, Vena, and Bobby are brought in, and learn they are now in the high court of Ankapor! First Native feels the crew are innocent and not involved. Because Ankapor does not want crime, their punishment is much more severe! Rocky's list of crimes grows long! Assault, attempted murder, robbery, prison escape, theft of a ship, and avoiding jurisdiction of authority! It all looks mighty bad for our hero Rocky Jones...! Chapter II Biff goes to see Rocky Jones in the Ankapor jail. Biff will act as Rocky's defense attorney - (provided his fee isn't too steep)! They really need Pinto to clear Rocky, but Dr. Reno and Rudy DiMarco will be sure to keep him far away! In the Ankapor high court, Jonica prepares her father's desk. She requests staying for the trial (mainly because Rudy DiMarco will be there) and La Volga agrees. Of course she sits next to Rudy! Dr. Reno will act as Griff's and Rudy's attorney. Biff, Vena, and Bobby take their seats and the "prisoner" is brought in. Biff begins, making his opening remarks. He calls Pinto Vortando to the stand! But since Pinto is unavoidably detained, he calls Vena to the stand next. Vena explains why Griff would want revenge against Rocky. Vena recounts scenes from "Beyond The Curtain Of Space" where Griff turned spy to United Worlds and tried to blow up the Office Of Space Affairs launch site! (Nearly six minutes of previous footage!) Dr. Reno now calls Griff to the stand and Griff explains about Prah ("Pirates of Prah"), but not as a pirate hide out, but as if it were just like Ankapor! Griff's "associates" Rinkman and Dr. Vanko lost much cargo and Griff blames Rocky Jones and his Cold Light invisibility for the thefts! Biff objects. And to verify his statements, Griff calls Bobby to the stand! Griff asks if Bobby had been to Prah? Bobby says yes, and says he overheard Rocky explaining Cold Light to Winky. La Volga has heard enough for one day, and now doubles the guard on Rocky before He, Dr. Reno, Rudy, and Griff leave. Bobby decides to try his luck with Jonica! Bobby relays the story of the Gypsy Moons and how Rocky helped them find peace ("Rocky's Odessy")and then helped evacuate Posita and Ophiuchus when they collided! ("The Crash Of Moons") Bobby just about sells Jonica on Rocky being a really great guy and completely innocent, when Rudy DiMarco shows up and draws Jonica away... And where is Pinto when he is needed most? On the YC47! Which needs to refuel at an unnamed United Worlds Station (OW9?). Griff's crew tie up and hide Pinto in a storage locker. The YC47 docks with the station. Ranger Clark comes aboard, and Commander Zandorf asks for a refuel. Pinto jumps out and tries to explain! A fight breaks out! Ranger Clark and Pinto win! Pinto insists on helping Rocky! And on Ankapor, Biff tries to keep Rocky's spirits up! But all is looking very bleak...! Chapter III Biff is eager to see Rocky Jones in his cell On Ankapor. Biff lets loose that Secretary Drake is on his way to Ankapor! And Ranger Clark, and the missing Pinto Vortando are already on Ankapor and ready to testify! In the High Court room, La Volga expresses his desire for a quick end to the trial. Biff calls Pinto to the stand! Pinto makes an entrance into the High Court room as if he had his own theme song! Pinto spills the beans on Rudy, Dr. Reno, and Griff! Dr. Reno then calls Ranger Clark to the stand, and asks Clark about Pinto's history. Clark recounts the pirate raid Pinto made, ("Cold Sun") and how Rocky caught him. Dr. Reno asks La Volga if such a scoundrel as Pinto could be trusted to tell the truth? Griff now asks Bobby to the stand. Bobby says Pinto is a new man, and then relates how the sun got a crust over it ("Cold Sun"), and Rocky needed to blow the crust up. Bobby relates how Rudy and Dr. Reno nearly stopped them, and if they had succeeded, even Ankapor would now be covered in ice! Dr. Reno has Bobby admit that Reno helped develop the totanic missiles that saved the sun. La Volga decides he has been wise to ignore a person's past, and will judge the case solely on the current history of the case on Ankapor, and what he has observed with his own eyes. He is just about to pass sentence on Rocky when... There is a terriffic earthquake! The whole place is coming down! La Volga casts away Jonica just in time as a column falls on him! He is trapped, but warns everyone out of the room and into the tunnels! Of course, Rudy, Dr. Reno, and Griff run for it! Jonica is with them. Rocky orders his crew out to safety, but Pinto remains. Together, Rocky and Pinto free La Volga and help him to safety! In the tunnels, Rudy abandons Jonica to save his own skin. Ranger Clark, Biff, Vena, and Bobby rescue Jonica and help her to safety. Griff, Rudy, and Dr. Reno get to the underground launch caverns and prepare to take off in the Silver Moon! But Biff and Ranger Clark arrive just in the nick of time to stop them from escaping! Vena and Bobby join in - and even Jonica! But Dr. Reno pulls a gun, and they lock the Rangers and Jonica in a supply room! Rocky, Pinto, and La Volga arrive in the launch caverns. Rocky takes on Rudy as more rock crumbles down from above in the earthquake! The quake - and the fight - finally over, the launch pit is completely sealed shut! Biff is able to get some light from the Silver Moon's circuits for them. But they are low on air! La Volga is happily reunited with Jonica. Rocky Jones tries to radio for help on the astrophone. He is able to get through to the approaching Secretary Drake and Professor Mayberry as they near Ankapor. Rocky asks if they have any missiles on board. Only one - totanic! Too large to safely use to knock a hole in the ceiling! Rocky uses magnetics to guide the missile in to explode near the Silver Moon! Big boom! Light! Air! Mayberry and Drake land. La Volga exradites the criminals: Biff, Dr. Reno, and Rudy DiMarco to United Worlds. Rocky askes Pinto to guard them on the way back - which he will enjoy emensely! Rocky and La Volga part as friends, and all is well in our solar system once more - thanks to Rocky Jones! The End! Gallery Cast **Richard Crane as Rocky Jones **Scotty Beckett as Winky (uncredited) **Sally Mansfield as Vena Ray **Robert Lyden as Bobby **Leonard Penn as Griff **Chas. Meredith as Secretary Drake **James Lydon as Biff Cardoza **William Hudson as Ranger Clark **Richard Avonde as Rudi DiMarco **Tom Browne Henry as Dr. Reno **Ted Hecht as Pinto Vortando **Dayton Lummis as La Volga **Melinda Plowman as Jonica **Bob Bray as Zandorf **James Griffith as First Native **Patsy Parsons as Cleolanta (uncredited) **Harry Lauter as Atlasand (uncredited) **Nan Leslie as Trinka (uncredited) **Gabor Curtiz as Dr. Vanko (uncredited) **Henry Brandon as Rinkman (uncredited) Crew *Directed - Hollingsworth Morse *Director of Photography - Walter Strenge *Production Manager - Dick L'Estrange *Supervising Editor - Roy Luby *Edited - Fred Mcguire (episode 1 and 2) *Edited - Richard Brockway (Episode 3) *Photographic Effects - Jack R. Glass *Art Director - McClure Capps *Casting Director - Bill Tinsman *Sound - Jack Goodrich *Sound - Joel Moss *Sound Editor - Cathey Burrow *Set Director - Rudy Butler *Script Supervisor - Hazel W. Hall *Technical Advisor - Dick Morgan *Technical Instruments - Loren Sackett *Assistant Director - Dick Moder *Costumes - Berman Costume Co. *Teleplay - Warren Wilson *Executive Producer - Guy V. Thayer, Jr. *Associate Producer - Arthur Pierson *Producer - Roland Reed *Original Music - Alexander Laszlo (uncredited) *Music Editor - Robert Raff. *Produced in 1954 by Roland Reed Productions Inc. and Space Ranger Enterprises Trivia *This three part episode is copywritten 1954. *Season one announcer and season one opening sequence. *This is the first Rocky Jones episode to list "Music Editor" and "Sound Editor" in the credits! *It is back to Ankapor for more adventures! - Nobody seems to remember Rocky was there saving Ankapor's butt in "Rocky's Odessy"! *Ankapor is in the known solar system, as it is stated in this episode that it would have been affected by the failing sun, cured by Rocky in "The Cold Sun". *How did the Silver Moon (the XV3) get retrieved from Regalio?! *Winky, Cleolanta, Atlasand, and Trinka are in flashback footage but NOT credited. *Ranger Clark uses "Bill" Hudson for first season credits and "William" Hudson for second season credits. *Girff is back and now sports a mustache! *Rudy DiMarco and Dr. Reno are back! (How did they get away from Rocky or United Worlds in "The Cold Sun"?!) They are now spending their time touring the planets and moons to display Rudy's athletic abilities! *Watch Pinto's scar appear in yet a new place on his face in this episode! It is now on his left cheek and vertical! *None of Bobby's testimonies in the High Court of Ankapor are factual! He was not on Prah! And although he knew about the Cold Light device, he was not present when Rocky explained it to Winky! ("The Pirates of Prah") Although Bobby was aboard the ship, Bobby was not present in the cock pit of the Silver Moon when Rocky fired the totanic missile at the sun! ("The Cold Sun") Although nothing Bobby says is completely wrong or inaccurate - much of it was not witnessed by him personally, and therefore would probably not be admissible. *"Compiled" episodes of any series are generally done for one of two reasons. Either the show is behind schedule in production and reediting old footage together saves vital time and money; or you are trying to capture a new audience and bring everyone up to speed. The way this episode is edited together, the latter seems more likely. Although it is unclear exactly which the producers had in mind for this episode, it IS the last Rocky Jones episode to be produced. And it is known that the production costs of the special effects were more than the producers cared to spend. At any rate, the show was canceled. Rocky Jones Space Ranger gained a reputation through its continued syndication, a hand full of comic books, and later again when the three part episodes were edited together and turned into "movies". It is too bad, as it would have been interesting to see what Rocky Jones would have been like if it had continued for three or even five years. Would it have become more scientiffically accurate? Would the writers have finally figured out their universe? And how would the series have faired next to Tom Corbet, or Captain Video, and others over time? All we do know for sure is that due to the high production values utilized at Roland Reed Productions for their choice of shooting on film stock, the series continues to exist to this day where other series of that time have been lost over time! *There is a total of eight "flashback" clips, five in Chapter II and three in Chapter III, for a combined 19 minutes, meaning there is 56 minutes of new footage shot or 75% of an ordinary 3-chapter episode. Category:Episode